This invention relates to carbonation apparatus for dispensing drinks, and more particularly to carbonation apparatus in which carbonated water is dispensed with a measured quantity of concentrate to produce a flavored drink.
In applicant's earlier PCT patent application No. 8914420.8, now published application No. W091/00238 there is disclosed carbonation apparatus in which water is carbonated in a carbonation chamber of a given capacity for a single drink. When such apparatus, and indeed other forms of carbonation apparatus, is operated continuously to dispense one drink after another, there are inevitably delays between the dispensing of one drink and the next since a finite time is required for each carbonation cycle. In many situations, these delays do not cause a problem. However, where there is a high demand for drinks, such as where drinks are being prepared for sale, these delays may cause considerable inconvenience. It is this problem which the present invention addresses.